83. Records of tenants and subtenants

84. Wardship, marriage, and relief

John Fitzjohn holds two plowlands in Repinghall and in Ringsdon, mediately, from William de Ros for the service of half a knight's fee, and it is taxable and is worth £10 per year; and the same William de Ros holds these two plowlands from Elias de Raban, mediately, and the same Elias holds them from the king in chief.

The same John Fitzjohn holds half a plowshare in Kirkby from Adam Holyland, mediately, for the service of the eighth part of one knight's fee; and the same Adam holds this mediately from Elias de Raban, and the same Elias holds it from the king in chief.

Reginald de Evermere holds in Rouceby two plowlands and a half from Baldwin Wake for military service, and they are worth £5 per year. And the same Baldwin holds for military service from the lord bishop of Durham; and the lord bishop from the king in chief.

The right of the king to the feudal dues of wardship and marriage was frequently transformed into cash by selling it to some person willing to give money for the privilege of using the heir's land during his minority and choosing a wife or husband for the heir when he or she became of age. Such grants by the king or payments to the king are recorded very frequently in the treasury records.

Jordan de Valence and Robert his son promise to pay 20 marks to have the guardianship of the heir of Rowland de Avers with all his inheritance; and to have license to marry the heir to any one they wish, so long as he is not disparaged, with the promise that if either of them die the survivor shall have the aforesaid guardianship in the aforesaid way and for the aforesaid payment.

The payment of relief is illustrated by the following account in the rolls of the Exchequer of a mistake by which the heir was in the first place only charged a relief

of fifty shillings, when he ought really to have paid two

hundred pounds.

The king accepted the homage of William Longespee, son 85. Payment and heir of Idonea, widow of William Longespee, for all the of relief lands which the said Idonea had held. And the abbot of Pershore, escheator of the king, received orders to collect from the same William fifty shillings to the king's use, as his relief. And afterward, when the records at the treasury had been searched, it was found that the said Idonea had held from the king, in capite, two baronies; that is to say, the barony which had formerly been that of Nicholas de la Hay in the county of Lincoln, and the barony which was formerly that of Gerard de Camville in the county of Oxford and elsewhere. Therefore it was decided by the barons that the aforesaid William should pay to the king two hundred pounds for his relief for the aforesaid baronies, instead of the fifty shillings as was contained in the former order.

The right to hold a court in which his tenants' suits must be tried was one of the invariable feudal customs; and nobles, knights, abbots, and other feudal lords were constantly appealing to the king to be supported in their rights, as in the following case which guarantees his feudal court to the abbot of Abingdon.

Henry, king of England, to Ralph Basset, greeting. I command you to cause Vincent, abbot of Abingdon, to have his court in Oxfordshire as well and fully as that church of Abingdon ever had it, or any one of his predecessors had it, best and most fully and honorably. And his men shall not plead outside of his court unless the abbot has first failed to give right in his court, and as you are able to make inquisition through the legal men of Oxfordshire that he ought to have his court. Witness the chancellor; at Woodstock.

If a vassal refused or neglected to perform his military service to his lord, his land might be confiscated. It is such a case that is described in the following extract.

86. Writ of

the king to Oxfordshire

the sheriff of

87. Confisca

tion and regrant of a fief

It is presented by the jurors above named that the manor of Chinnore along with the hamlet of Sydenham was held of old, from the time of the Conquest, from the lord king of England, by a certain man who was named Walter de Vernon, as one knight's fee; and because the said Walter de Vernon refused to perform his due service from the said manor to the lord king John, in the time of the war which sprang up between the lord king John and the king of France, the lord king John with the advice of his council seized that same manor with its appurtenances, and removed the said Walter de Vernon, on account of his ingratitude, from the possession of the aforesaid manor forever. And the lord king John granted that same manor with its appurtenances, for the services that to the same lord king were due from it, to Saer de Quincy, formerly earl of Winchester, to hold to himself and his heirs in capite from the lord king as one knight's fee; and the heirs of the said Saer held the aforesaid manor in succession, and still hold it, except the hamlet Sydenham, which the abbot of Thame holds as a gift from Roger de Quincy.

CHAPTER VIII

FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL UNITY, 1154-1216

I. HENRY II AND HIS REFORMS

There was so much writing during this period that the principal circumstances of the time have come down to us fully described in the contemporary literature. Only short extracts can of course be given from these long accounts. The first describes the personality of Henry II, which counted for so much in the history of the time. It is taken from Gerald de Barry, or Giraldus Cambrensis, "Gerald of Wales," as he called himself, who knew Henry well.

appearance,

Henry Second, king of the English, was a man of ruddy 88. Henry's complexion, large, round head, piercing, blue-gray eyes, fierce personal and glowing red in anger, with fiery face and a harsh voice. habits, and He was short of neck, square of chest, strong of arm, and character fleshy in body. By nature rather than from over-indulgence he had a large paunch, yet not such as to make him sluggish. For he was temperate in food and drink, sober and inclined to be prudent in all things so far as this is permitted to a leader. And that he might overcome this unkindness on the part of nature by diligence, and lighten the fault of the flesh by greatness of spirit, often by an internal warfare, as it were conspiring against himself, he exercised his body with unbounded activity. Besides, wars frequently occurred; in these he was preeminent in action and gave himself not a moment of rest. In times of peace as well, he took no rest or quiet for himself. Immoderately devoted to hunting, he went out at early dawn

Henry and
Richard,
Geoffrey and

John

His preference for the

army over the church

on a swift horse. Now descending into the valleys, now penetrating the forests, now ascending the peaks of mountains, he spent his days in activity; when he returned to his home in the evening, either before or after the meal one rarely saw him seated. Then after such strenuous exertion on his part he used to weary the whole court by continual marches.

He was a man of medium height, a thing which could not be said of any of his sons, the two elder a little exceeding medium height, while the two younger remained below that stature. Setting aside the activities of his mind and his impulse to anger, he was chief among the eloquent, and a thing which is most conspicuous in these times — he was most skilled in letters; a man easy to approach, tractable, and courteous; in politeness second to none. A leader so strong in sense of duty that, often as he conquered in arms, he himself was more often conquered by his sense of justice. Strenuous in war, in peace he was cautious. Often in martial affairs he shrank from the possible disasters of war, and tried wisely all things before resorting to arms. He wept over those lost in the line of battle more than their leader; he was more gentle to the dead soldier than to the living, mourning with much greater grief over the dead than winning the living with his love. When disasters threatened, none was kinder; when security was gained, no one was more severe. Fierce towards the unconquered, merciful towards the conquered; strict towards those at home, easy towards strangers; in public lavish, prudent in private. If he had once hated a man, rarely afterwards would he be fond of him; scarcely ever would he hate one whom he had once loved. He was especially fond of hawking; he was equally delighted with dogs, which followed wild beasts by sagacity of scent, taking pleasure as well in their loud sonorous barkings as in their swift speed.

Would that he had been as much inclined to devotion as he was to hunting! Although he was a son of the church and had drawn from her the honor of his position, either unmindful or inattentive to the holy power which had been conferred upon him, he devoted scarcely any time to divine services; and even this little time, perhaps on account of great affairs of state and